A recent article in Fortune entitled, “Ultra cheap Chromebooks are killing it this year”, highlights the explosive growth of mobile devices in schools, and specifically relays how 72% of Chromebooks sales were to schools. MORE

They were floating in the water when I first saw them — the paintings of my three-year-old girl. Once a moment of pride and jubilation, now wading in the water that stretched from side to side of my home. It’s an image I’ll never forget and one of the most difficult moments of my life. A few hours earlier, I had just finished a keynote in New York, when I glanced at my phone. I had over a dozen missed calls from numbers I didn’t recognize. They turned out to be the types of calls you never want MORE

Schools around the country are being cleaned, waxed, and made to look their best in preparation for another year. It’s about this time when principals begin planning for the new year. Data is analyzed, goals are formed, schedules reworked, communication to parents planned, etc. But where does school culture fit into planning for next year? What steps can principals take to build a positive school culture and strong team? Lead by example. It’s simple. As a whole, staff members watch and mimic MORE

It’s that time of year again. School leaders begin to make their plans for the summer months; from professional learning days to administrative PLCs. The best teachers begin counting up the time remaining to make a difference in the lives of their kids. MORE

On Wednesday, November 19, 110 of the nation’s top superintendents, U.S. Department of Education officials and representatives from a myriad of organizations, convened at the White House for theSuperintendents’ Summit, declared “ConnectED to the Future,” by President Obama. The event was an an extension of theConnectED Initiativelaunched earlier this year. Obama kicked offFuture Ready, a bold new effort to maximize digital-learning opportunities and help school districts move quickly toward MORE

It was August of 2000. I was about to enter my very first year teaching fourth grade in Pennsylvania. At 21 years old and a new college degree in hand, I thought I had a clue as to what it would take to be a new teacher. MORE

I was the fourth one in line. Standing directly in front of me were two moms that were obviously out shopping for school supplies. It is that time of year. Three-pronged folders, marble notebooks, some pens, a few book covers, a handful of binders, and some loose leaf paper was what I could see. What struck me most was how similar school shopping must have been twenty years earlier when that mom’s mother or father had taken her to the local store for back to school shopping. It struck me how as MORE

I’ve recently discovered an exciting new company called Alma, which has built a groundbreaking new Holistic Student Engagement Platform (an SIS/LMS hybrid) that I believe in so much that I’ve joined their Advisory Board. MORE

Fourteen years ago I closed the door to a classroom that I could call my own for the first time. I was 21 years old, fresh out of college, and thought I had a clue as to what teaching would be like. Looking at 24 little ones staring back at me, I was nervous and in retrospect, pretty clueless. I remember that feeling like it was yesterday. My first year teaching was one of the most difficult years of my life, but a year that changed my course and provided me with incredible clarity. The day MORE

You may have seen my friend, Eric Sheninger's recent post, "Finally, an SIS Worth Switching For". Eric and I are both on Alma's Advisory Board and like him, I'm excited about this platform. As an SIS, it's the best-in-class. MORE

This post was originally published by the National PTA, here. Note: This blog post represents my personal views and not that of my employer, the Alliance for Education, or that of the US Department of Education; the two organizations that are running Future Ready. Parent Engagement in a Future Ready School It’s no secret. Parents are instrumental in the academic success of children, yet walk into schools across our nation, and the range of parent involvement is all over the map. Some schools MORE

Year after year, hundreds of millions of dollars are funneled into technology initiatives and resources in school districts throughout the country. From hardware and software, to infrastructure and one-to-one devices, money is flowing into programs and tools for schools like never before, but are these technology devices and tools making a worthwhile impact considering the cost? Who’s leading such implementation and reform? As these tools become more prevalent in schools, it’s school leaders MORE

Every year, school districts around the country waste a tremendous amount of time and money on ineffective professional development. The traditional model of “sit and get,” where a one-size-fits-all approach is utilized, yields abhorrent results. Ask teachers from typical school districts in America their thoughts on traditional in-service time, and the feedback won’t be pretty. Professional development in many districts must undergo radical reform, from a model that’s outdated and ineffective MORE

This past week, I had the privilege of introducing US Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, as a guest moderator for #edtechchat, an educational Twitter chat that I founded with four members of my personal learning network (PLN). Over the course of 60 minutes, almost 2,000 people from around the world, shared about 10,000 tweets in response to the Secretary''s six questions related to being a Connected Educator. Secretary Duncan (@arneduncan) and his Office of Educational Technology MORE

The role of the typical school district technology director has become obsolete. Speak with your average teacher in many school districts in the U.S., and you’ll find the technology department is better known for getting in the way than for serving the educational needs of both staff and students. Many technology departments, led by obsolete tech directors, are inadvertently inhibiting learning. The mantra of “lock it and block it” no longer works in a 21st century digital learning environment MORE

I can remember bouncing on your lap when I was about three. I remember the silly gifts you’d give, your incredible sense of humor, your amazing model of how to be a father and grandfather, and how to this day, I consider you the most brilliant man I’ve ever known. MORE

Each week, educators from around the world take part in various conversations on Twitter known as “chats.” These conversations have become an excellent way for educators to connect on relevant topics, share resources and best practices, all while challenging each other’s thinking. MORE

As educators, our core business is learning. We fulfill a multitude of additional roles that are also extremely important, yet, at its essence, education is about learning and our schools and school districts must be learning-focused organizations. MORE

Personalized learning. One-to-one implementation. Bring your own device initiatives. All of these, when combined with high-quality instructional practice, can systemically change a classroom learning environment. However, these instructional practices and tools are essentially useless without an infrastructure that can properly support them. Although the topic of E-Rate has come to the forefront in recent months, in the not-too-distant future the program will turn 20 years old. Section 254 of MORE

“If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.” ” – John Dewey, 1915. The availability of content and the multitude of distribution platforms have grown exponentially in recent years. MORE

The Quakertown Community School District, winner of the 2011 iNACOL Innovative Program Award, has been highlighted by Michael Horn, author of “Disrupting Class,” on numerous occasions for its self-blend educational model. QCSD, a K-12 public school in Bucks County, Pa., is a rare breed among public schools, as all students in grades 6-12 have a full menu of both cyber and blended learning options. Some students earn a QCSD diploma as full-time cyber students. Others graduate having taken all of MORE

The Future Ready Schools Initiative is a bold new initiative, led by theAlliance for Excellent Education, supported by theUS Department of Education, and in partnership with the LEAD Commission and a vast coalition of organizations, working to support school district superintendents and their leadership teams on district-wide transformation. The vision of this new initiative is for district leaders to develop and implement a sustainable, forward thinking roadmap for effective digital learning MORE

The energy at the end of the day was infectious. To hear Emily Davis from the US Department of Education speak with such passion about what had occurred at the DOE that day was both encouraging and inspiring. In lieu of the traditional edcamp smackdown to wrap up the day, 100 educators from around the nation discussed the day''s impact of the first ever EdCamp USA. In reflecting on my time at the Department on June 6th, and having co-facilitated four sessions throughout the day, I left with the MORE

It was sitting at a breakfast meeting three years ago with a colleague in a neighboring school district and my close friend, Rich Kiker (@rkiker) that it hit me. Rich and I were discussing needs in our home districts, plans moving forward, effective aspects of our professional development, and how to continue to improve on our already successful programs. As we sat there eating our eggs, we began to see clearly, how through a few simple steps, we could continue to help transform professional MORE

In two days, my little boy will be one. In a blink of an eye, he’s gone from a sweet newborn baby, to a crazy babbling toddler on the verge of taking steps of his own. My princess, now four, talks about her wedding day, what she wants to be when she grows up, and her favorite app of the day. MORE

I can remember bouncing on your lap when I was about three. I remember the silly gifts you’d give, your incredible sense of humor, your amazing model of how to be a father and grandfather, and how to this day, I consider you the most brilliant man I’ve ever known. I remember your hugs and kisses; your tickles every time we were together. I remember your “I love you, Tommy. I’m so proud of you”, stated well over a million times. As I’ve grown older, I’ve learned to greatly respect your service MORE

From Atlanta, Georgia to Vancouver, Washington, I've had the opportunity to travel and work with over a thousand district leaders over the past year. Regardless of which region of the country the conversation takes place, a number of concerns arise regarding a district's digital tranformation. MORE

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with three of the nation’s leaders in classroom design, and founders of the MTV-meets-classroom style resource,Classroom Cribs: elementary school principalBen Gilpin, technology specialistAJ Juliani, and classroom teacher and award winning blogger,Erin Klein. In this Alliance for Excellent EducationProject 24 Leadership Series Webinar, we discuss a number of keys to classroom redesign, the research behind designing a brain-friendly learning MORE

In two days, my little boy will be one. In a blink of an eye, he’s gone from a sweet newborn baby, to a crazy babbling toddler on the verge of taking steps of his own. My princess, now four, talks about her wedding day, what she wants to be when she grows up, and her favorite app of the day. I’m not quite sure where time went, but in a few blinks, life has moved on. I’m a guilty one. I’m guilty of often putting work in front of my little angels. Guilty of often having my head buried in my email MORE

This post is co-authored by Tom Murray and Kristen Swanson. Dear Tom, Back in the days of giant desktop computers and Microsoft Publisher, you were my teacher. You showed me how to create digital learning spaces for my students, and you guided me as I started to think about the ways that technology could transform students into authentic writers and publishers. Although it has been many years since you were my teacher, you still influence my learning. Thanks to Twitter, blogs, and social MORE

The energy at the end of the day was infectious. To hear Emily Davis from the US Department of Education speak with such passion about what had occurred at the DOE that day was both encouraging and inspiring. MORE

Finding strength in the midst of heartache Today was one of the those days. The kind of day that’s difficult to forget and one that rips your heart out as a parent. What started out as any Monday would, ended with me appreciating life and the love of my little ones that much more. MORE

Future Ready Schools is a bold new initiative, led by the Alliance for Excellent Education, supported by the US Department of Education, and in partnership with the LEAD Commission and a vast coalition of organizations, working to support school district superintendents and their leadership teams on district-wide transformation. The vision of this new initiative is for district leaders to develop and implement a sustainable, forward thinking roadmap for effective digital learning transformation MORE

Tom Murray

It was August of 2000. I was about to enter my very first year teaching fourth grade in Pennsylvania. At 21 years old and a new college degree in hand, I thought I had a clue as to what it would take to be a new teacher.

“If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.” ” – John Dewey, 1915. The availability of content and the multitude of distribution platforms have grown exponentially in recent years.

You may have seen my friend, Eric Sheninger's recent post, "Finally, an SIS Worth Switching For". Eric and I are both on Alma's Advisory Board and like him, I'm excited about this platform. As an SIS, it's the best-in-class.

I’ve recently discovered an exciting new company called Alma, which has built a groundbreaking new Holistic Student Engagement Platform (an SIS/LMS hybrid) that I believe in so much that I’ve joined their Advisory Board.

A recent article in Fortune entitled, “Ultra cheap Chromebooks are killing it this year”, highlights the explosive growth of mobile devices in schools, and specifically relays how 72% of Chromebooks sales were to schools.

From Atlanta, Georgia to Vancouver, Washington, I've had the opportunity to travel and work with over a thousand district leaders over the past year. Regardless of which region of the country the conversation takes place, a number of concerns arise regarding a district's digital tranformation.

Finding strength in the midst of heartache Today was one of the those days. The kind of day that’s difficult to forget and one that rips your heart out as a parent. What started out as any Monday would, ended with me appreciating life and the love of my little ones that much more.

A recent article in Fortune entitled, “Ultra cheap Chromebooks are killing it this year”, highlights the explosive growth of mobile devices in schools, and specifically relays how 72% of Chromebooks sales were to schools.

The energy at the end of the day was infectious. To hear Emily Davis from the US Department of Education speak with such passion about what had occurred at the DOE that day was both encouraging and inspiring.

In two days, my little boy will be one. In a blink of an eye, he’s gone from a sweet newborn baby, to a crazy babbling toddler on the verge of taking steps of his own. My princess, now four, talks about her wedding day, what she wants to be when she grows up, and her favorite app of the day.

I can remember bouncing on your lap when I was about three. I remember the silly gifts you’d give, your incredible sense of humor, your amazing model of how to be a father and grandfather, and how to this day, I consider you the most brilliant man I’ve ever known.

As educators, our core business is learning. We fulfill a multitude of additional roles that are also extremely important, yet, at its essence, education is about learning and our schools and school districts must be learning-focused organizations.

Each week, educators from around the world take part in various conversations on Twitter known as “chats.” These conversations have become an excellent way for educators to connect on relevant topics, share resources and best practices, all while challenging each other’s thinking.

It’s that time of year again. School leaders begin to make their plans for the summer months; from professional learning days to administrative PLCs. The best teachers begin counting up the time remaining to make a difference in the lives of their kids.

This post was originally published by the National PTA, here. Note: This blog post represents my personal views and not that of my employer, the Alliance for Education, or that of the US Department of Education; the two organizations that are running Future Ready. Parent Engagement in a Future Ready School It’s no secret. Parents are instrumental in the academic success of children, yet walk into schools across our nation, and the range of parent involvement is all over the map. Some schools

Future Ready Schools is a bold new initiative, led by the Alliance for Excellent Education, supported by the US Department of Education, and in partnership with the LEAD Commission and a vast coalition of organizations, working to support school district superintendents and their leadership teams on district-wide transformation. The vision of this new initiative is for district leaders to develop and implement a sustainable, forward thinking roadmap for effective digital learning transformation

On Wednesday, November 19, 110 of the nation’s top superintendents, U.S. Department of Education officials and representatives from a myriad of organizations, convened at the White House for theSuperintendents’ Summit, declared “ConnectED to the Future,” by President Obama. The event was an an extension of theConnectED Initiativelaunched earlier this year. Obama kicked offFuture Ready, a bold new effort to maximize digital-learning opportunities and help school districts move quickly toward

Personalized learning. One-to-one implementation. Bring your own device initiatives. All of these, when combined with high-quality instructional practice, can systemically change a classroom learning environment. However, these instructional practices and tools are essentially useless without an infrastructure that can properly support them. Although the topic of E-Rate has come to the forefront in recent months, in the not-too-distant future the program will turn 20 years old. Section 254 of

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with three of the nation’s leaders in classroom design, and founders of the MTV-meets-classroom style resource,Classroom Cribs: elementary school principalBen Gilpin, technology specialistAJ Juliani, and classroom teacher and award winning blogger,Erin Klein. In this Alliance for Excellent EducationProject 24 Leadership Series Webinar, we discuss a number of keys to classroom redesign, the research behind designing a brain-friendly learning

The Future Ready Schools Initiative is a bold new initiative, led by theAlliance for Excellent Education, supported by theUS Department of Education, and in partnership with the LEAD Commission and a vast coalition of organizations, working to support school district superintendents and their leadership teams on district-wide transformation. The vision of this new initiative is for district leaders to develop and implement a sustainable, forward thinking roadmap for effective digital learning

I was the fourth one in line. Standing directly in front of me were two moms that were obviously out shopping for school supplies. It is that time of year. Three-pronged folders, marble notebooks, some pens, a few book covers, a handful of binders, and some loose leaf paper was what I could see. What struck me most was how similar school shopping must have been twenty years earlier when that mom’s mother or father had taken her to the local store for back to school shopping. It struck me how as

I can remember bouncing on your lap when I was about three. I remember the silly gifts you’d give, your incredible sense of humor, your amazing model of how to be a father and grandfather, and how to this day, I consider you the most brilliant man I’ve ever known. I remember your hugs and kisses; your tickles every time we were together. I remember your “I love you, Tommy. I’m so proud of you”, stated well over a million times. As I’ve grown older, I’ve learned to greatly respect your service

In two days, my little boy will be one. In a blink of an eye, he’s gone from a sweet newborn baby, to a crazy babbling toddler on the verge of taking steps of his own. My princess, now four, talks about her wedding day, what she wants to be when she grows up, and her favorite app of the day. I’m not quite sure where time went, but in a few blinks, life has moved on. I’m a guilty one. I’m guilty of often putting work in front of my little angels. Guilty of often having my head buried in my email

The energy at the end of the day was infectious. To hear Emily Davis from the US Department of Education speak with such passion about what had occurred at the DOE that day was both encouraging and inspiring. In lieu of the traditional edcamp smackdown to wrap up the day, 100 educators from around the nation discussed the day''s impact of the first ever EdCamp USA. In reflecting on my time at the Department on June 6th, and having co-facilitated four sessions throughout the day, I left with the

Fourteen years ago I closed the door to a classroom that I could call my own for the first time. I was 21 years old, fresh out of college, and thought I had a clue as to what teaching would be like. Looking at 24 little ones staring back at me, I was nervous and in retrospect, pretty clueless. I remember that feeling like it was yesterday. My first year teaching was one of the most difficult years of my life, but a year that changed my course and provided me with incredible clarity. The day

They were floating in the water when I first saw them — the paintings of my three-year-old girl. Once a moment of pride and jubilation, now wading in the water that stretched from side to side of my home. It’s an image I’ll never forget and one of the most difficult moments of my life. A few hours earlier, I had just finished a keynote in New York, when I glanced at my phone. I had over a dozen missed calls from numbers I didn’t recognize. They turned out to be the types of calls you never want

This post is co-authored by Tom Murray and Kristen Swanson. Dear Tom, Back in the days of giant desktop computers and Microsoft Publisher, you were my teacher. You showed me how to create digital learning spaces for my students, and you guided me as I started to think about the ways that technology could transform students into authentic writers and publishers. Although it has been many years since you were my teacher, you still influence my learning. Thanks to Twitter, blogs, and social

The Quakertown Community School District, winner of the 2011 iNACOL Innovative Program Award, has been highlighted by Michael Horn, author of “Disrupting Class,” on numerous occasions for its self-blend educational model. QCSD, a K-12 public school in Bucks County, Pa., is a rare breed among public schools, as all students in grades 6-12 have a full menu of both cyber and blended learning options. Some students earn a QCSD diploma as full-time cyber students. Others graduate having taken all of

The role of the typical school district technology director has become obsolete. Speak with your average teacher in many school districts in the U.S., and you’ll find the technology department is better known for getting in the way than for serving the educational needs of both staff and students. Many technology departments, led by obsolete tech directors, are inadvertently inhibiting learning. The mantra of “lock it and block it” no longer works in a 21st century digital learning environment

Every year, school districts around the country waste a tremendous amount of time and money on ineffective professional development. The traditional model of “sit and get,” where a one-size-fits-all approach is utilized, yields abhorrent results. Ask teachers from typical school districts in America their thoughts on traditional in-service time, and the feedback won’t be pretty. Professional development in many districts must undergo radical reform, from a model that’s outdated and ineffective

Schools around the country are being cleaned, waxed, and made to look their best in preparation for another year. It’s about this time when principals begin planning for the new year. Data is analyzed, goals are formed, schedules reworked, communication to parents planned, etc. But where does school culture fit into planning for next year? What steps can principals take to build a positive school culture and strong team? Lead by example. It’s simple. As a whole, staff members watch and mimic

Year after year, hundreds of millions of dollars are funneled into technology initiatives and resources in school districts throughout the country. From hardware and software, to infrastructure and one-to-one devices, money is flowing into programs and tools for schools like never before, but are these technology devices and tools making a worthwhile impact considering the cost? Who’s leading such implementation and reform? As these tools become more prevalent in schools, it’s school leaders

It was sitting at a breakfast meeting three years ago with a colleague in a neighboring school district and my close friend, Rich Kiker (@rkiker) that it hit me. Rich and I were discussing needs in our home districts, plans moving forward, effective aspects of our professional development, and how to continue to improve on our already successful programs. As we sat there eating our eggs, we began to see clearly, how through a few simple steps, we could continue to help transform professional

This past week, I had the privilege of introducing US Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, as a guest moderator for #edtechchat, an educational Twitter chat that I founded with four members of my personal learning network (PLN). Over the course of 60 minutes, almost 2,000 people from around the world, shared about 10,000 tweets in response to the Secretary''s six questions related to being a Connected Educator. Secretary Duncan (@arneduncan) and his Office of Educational Technology